Two Deadly Buggy Crashes In One Day Claim Two Amish Children’s Lives (UPDATED: NY Man Charged)
Sunday was a bad day for Amish buggies on the road. Two Amish children – a teen and a younger one – were killed in separate accidents, in Virginia, and New York.
Another Bad Crash in Farmville, VA
To start with Virginia, I’m not quite sure what is wrong with the drivers in the Farmville area. A young Amish girl was killed and six others were injured, one seriously, after a man driving a truck struck a buggy. As per usual, the vehicle driver was fine, while the Amish have lost a precious loved one, with another young girl lying in hospital in critical condition.
This is the third serious buggy crash in just the past several years, and it’s not that large a community. In 2021, eight Amish children were orphaned after their family buggy was rear-ended, taking the lives of John and Barbie Esh, a couple in their late 30s. The driver was charged with manslaughter.
Just a year earlier, a whopping 15 Amish people were injured after a buggy hauling a wagon was struck from behind. Thankfully no one died. The driver was charged with reckless driving.
This aren’t the only incidents in this community, either. In April of this year, an Amish girl was injured when a buggy flipped, because a car’s revving engine spooked the horse.
Amish people have been moving to the Farmville area for years now – since 2016 – and their numbers have swelled to about 250 people in four church districts. So the non-Amish community is well aware by now of a sizeable Amish presence.
Carelessness by people, some of whom shouldn’t have drivers’ licenses, means people are getting hurt and killed in the Farmville community. It’s a shame, and I wonder why the drivers in this area seems to have such trouble with being safe on the road around their Amish neighbors.
The GoFundMe for the Enos King Family is here.
Fleeing the Scene in upstate NY
In the second crash, a 40-year-old man rear-ended a buggy in the Lowville, New York Amish community – and kept driving. Five people were ejected from the carriage. A 17-year-old was killed.
Jared J. Spaulding, purportedly the driver of the vehicle which struck the buggy, was later located at his home. Charges are now pending.
You can see how the buggy was obliterated in this photo, and understand why one person did not survive. The others were all teens or early 20s, and somehow sustained only non-life-threatening injuries.
I won’t be surprised if it turns out this person was under the influence, like this man, who turned out to be full of drugs after striking a buggy in southern Indiana.
For all the noise made about Amish buggies needing to have proper lighting and reflective material, it doesn’t make much difference if the roads are full of terrible drivers.
In both Farmville and Lowville, both the SMV triangle and lighting are used – as is the case for the vast majority of buggies hit by cars.
Update: NY Man Charged with Manslaughter, DUI in Amish Youth’s Crash Death
The man who fled the crash scene in July, leaving behind a dead 17-year-old Amish boy, has now been arrested on 17 separate charges. From WWNY:
LOWVILLE, New York (WWNY) – A Copenhagen man who allegedly left the scene of a fatal buggy crash in July has been arrested on vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving charges.
State police arrested 41-year-old Jared Spaulding on Tuesday after a Lewis County grand jury indicted him in connection with the crash that killed an Amish teen and injured four others.
He faces the following charges:
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- 3 counts of aggravated DWI
- 3 counts of first-degree vehicular manslaughter
- 1 count of second-degree vehicular manslaughter
- 3 counts of first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation
- 1 count of operator leave the scene of an accident – injury resulting in death
- 2 counts of third-degree assault
- 4 counts of second-degree reckless endangerment
Spaulding was being held at the county jail to await his arraignment.
At the least, this means local roads should become a bit safer for all residents.
Lowville Funeral Today
The funeral for the teen in Lowville was today, we saw the many families coming home around 4 this afternoon. The news has not said if the driver was impaired or not but to hit a buggy when it was still light out and to keep going implies either impairment or driving without a license. That area of the road has quite a few Amish homes and an Amish school on a side road. It will be interesting to see what he is charged with in about a month when the investigation is finished, but most people don’t drive another 15 minutes to home after hitting a buggy and not know they hit something. I don’t think this buggy had the triangle but you can see one of the big lanterns that would have been on the front and is visible for a good distance in the picture. There are a few Amish homes in that area so they may have been almost home when the crash happened.
Farmville Area
The back roads are generally narrow, winding, and many areas are wooded so that there is no forward visibility like there would be on roads through open fields like farmland. The speed limits are often 45-55. Because there is a relatively low amount of horse drawn traffic in the area, despite warning signs that don’t require a reduction in speed, drivers are not likely to be alert for slow moving traffic especially during the day. The risk of hitting deer at night is high enough that many drivers go slower and watch for deer in the road at night.
It’s different than in an area like Lancaster, PA where a horse drawn vehicle can usually be seen fairly far ahead in open country during daylight hours; and there is more awareness among drivers of the high amount of horse drawn traffic.
Buggy crashes
This has to end. Need to group together and create a lane for buggies on the side of road. No more buggies on the road. Or another idea to governor to allow buggies and autos on differant days only or like the weekends no cars allowed and highway patrol needs to keep up on that or install cameras for serious fines. What’s with the governor in those states. Are they not aware of the problem? This needs to stop now and solve the problem. Buggies and cars should not be on the roads same time final. My sincere prayers and sadness goes to the families involved in these tragic towns. If I lived their I certainally step up do something about it now. Group together either amish or Englishers and get help for these amish people to be safe on the roads. Something needs to stop this.
DUI
Drunk driving laws in the US are not strong enough to keep drunks from driving. Penalties for crashes caused by those driving drunk must be made much stiffer than they are currently. Deaths and maiming injuries caused by drunk drivers should be treated just as though they would have been if they had used a lethal fire arm, knife or explosive. The big problem here is, even though stronger laws might be enacted, those who wish to drive drunk will never be deterred from doing so. There are stupid people in this world.